Assam Excise (Amendment) Act, 2018
No: 4 Dated: Mar, 22 2018
THE ASSAM EXCISE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2018
ASSAM ACT NO. IV OF 2018
An Act further to amend the Assam Excise Act, 2000.
Preamble:- Whereas it is expedient further to amend the Assam Excise Act, 2000, hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, in the manner hereinafter appearing.
It is hereby enacted in the Sixty-ninth Year of the Republic of India as follows
1. Short title, extent and commencement:-(1) This Act may be called the Assam Excise (Amendment) Act,2018
(2) It shall have the like extent as the principal Act.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Amendment of section 2:- In the principal Act, in section 2 , after clause (y), the following new clause (z), shall be inserted, namely
“ (z) ‘public place’ means any place intended for use by or accessible to the public and includes any conveyance running or parked on public roads or parking area;”
3. Substitution of section 36:- In the principal Act, for the existing section 36, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“36. Recovery of dues.- (1) All excise revenue, payable to the Government under this Act, shall be recovered from the person liable to pay the same or his legal representatives/ successors or from his surety or his agent as if they were the arrears of land revenue or in the manner provided for the recovery of public demands by any law for the time being in force.
(2) In the event of default in payment of excise revenue or otherwise, by any person licensed under this Act, his manufactory, warehouse, shop or premises and all fittings, apparatus, stocks of liquor or material for the manufacture of the same, held therein shall be liable to be attached towards any claim for excise revenue or in respect of any loss incurred by the Government through such default and be sold to satisfy such claim which shall be the first charge upon the proceeds of such sale.”
4. Substitution of section 49:- In the principal Act, for the existing section 49, the following shall be substituted, namely :-
“49. Bail.- (1) Subject to sub- section (2) of this section, the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 shall apply to bail in respect of the offences under this Act.
(2) Except for the offences punishable under sub-section (1) of section 53, section 54 and section 55, which shall be nonbailable, all other offences under this Act shall be bailable within the meaning of the said Code.
(3) All Excise Officers and Police Officers, not below such rank as the State Government may prescribe, shall be empowered to accept bail in respect of bailable offences.”
5. Amendment of section 53:- In the principal Act, in section 53, for the existing provisions of sub-sectiori (1), the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“53. Penalty for unlawful import, export, transport manufacture, possession, sale etc.- (1) Whoever, in contravention of the provision of this Act or of any rule or order made or notification issued or of any licence, permit or pass, granted under this Act, -
(a) manufactures, imports, exports, transports, removes, possesses or sells any intoxicant other than tari and pachwai; or
(b) constructs or works, any distillery or brewery ; or
(c) bottles any liquor other than tari and pachwai for purposes of sale; or
(d) uses, keeps or has in his possession any material, still, utensil, implement or apparatus, whatsoever, for the purpose of manufacturing any intoxicant other than tari and pachwai; or
(e) possesses any material or label of any brand of liquor either with or without the Government hologram or hologram of any other State or any other thing in which liquor can be packed or any apparatus or implement or machine for the purpose of packing any liquor;
shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than five thousand rupees but which may extend to one lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a term which may extend to one year, and such imprisonment shall be in addition to any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced.”
6. Substitution of section 54:- In the principal Act, for the existing section 54, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“54. Unlawful possession in certain cases:- Whoever without lawful authority has in his possession any quantity of any intoxicant knowing the same to have been unlawfully imported, exported, transported or manufactured, and knowing that the prescribed duty has not been paid thereon, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a term which may extend to one year and such imprisonment shall be in addition to any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced.”
7. Substitution o f section 55:- In the principal Act, for the existing section 55, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“55. Penalty for altering or attempting to alter any denatured spirit that may be used for human consumption.- If any person alters or attempts to alter any denatured spirit with the intention that such spirit may be used for human consumption whether as a beverage or internally as medicine or in any other way whatsoever, by any method whatsoever, or has in his possession any spirit in respect of which he knows or has reason to believe that any such alteration or attempt has been made, he shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years and with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to two lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a term which may extend to one year, and such imprisonment shall be addition to any other imprisonment to which he may have been sentenced.”
8. Amendment o f section 58:- In the principal Act, in section 58, in sub- section (b), after the words and punctuation mark “permit or pass,”, the following shall be substituted, namely: -
“shall be punished in case of (a) with fine which shall not be less than ten thousand rupees but which may extend to fifty thousand rupees and in case (b) with fine which shall not be less than fifty thousand rupees but which may extend to five lakh rupees and the convicting Magistrate shall direct the offender to be imprisoned in default of payment of fine for a term which may extend to six months.”